Jaishankar meets B'deshi, Bahraini counterparts on CICA Summit sidelines

On the sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Summit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday met the foreign ministers of Bangladesh and Bahrain, AK Abdul Momen and Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa and reviewed the recent progress made in bilateral ties with the respective countries. "Friendship spanning centuries. Ahead of the #CICA2019 summit in #Dushanbe EAM @DrSJaishankar met with Foreign Minister of Bahrain @khalidalkhalifa to discuss wide-ranging issues of mutual interest. @IndiaInBahrain @IndEmbDushanbe," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet.

"A close neighbour, a closer partner. EAM @DrSJaishankar met with Foreign Minister of #Bangladesh @AKAbdulMomen in #Dushanbe to review the recent progress made in bilateral relations. EAM is in the Tajik capital to attend the #CICA2019 summit. @ihcdhaka @IndEmbDushanbe," Kumar said in another tweet. Jaishankar is currently in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe where he is set to attend the two-day 5th Conference on CICA Summit.

CICA is a pan-Asia forum for enhancing cooperation and promoting peace, security and stability in Asia. The theme of the 5th Summit is "Shared Vision for a Secure and More Prosperous CICA Region". The summit will adopt a Declaration covering issues of cooperation within CICA, the MEA had said in a statement.

During the summit, CICA leaders are likely to deliberate on the existing and emerging issues of common concern to the members and underline implementation of confidence-building measures for developing Asia into a prosperous, secure and peaceful region. India is a member of CICA since its inception and late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had participated in the first CICA Summit held in Almaty in 2002, according to MEA.

India has been actively participating in various activities conducted under CICA. On the sidelines of the summit, Jaishankar will also hold bilateral meetings.

This is Jaishankar's second overseas visit since taking charge as External Affairs Minister last month. He had visited Bhutan earlier this month.

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